How to strategize with your team (Inspired by HBR Jan/Feb 2011)

We are all aware of companies goals. You can find them in annual report, conference rooms, even around the walls as very well design poster. Had you ever ask yourself? "What is my influence against such metric?, How do I contribute?"

Most companies/managers do a poor job translating the company goals into actions. So the groups goes along receiving a paycheck never sure why.

The following exercise is a good way for managers to help guide their team creating their charter to help the company be successful.

PRE-QUEL!
Before starting if you are the manager, make sure to PREPARE yourself to understand the big goals and reason behind them. You might want to even play out this activity as part of the pre-work with yourself to get an idea of any questions that might come up. Don't forget to be OPEN MINDED, as I can guarantee you that whatever you thought the outcome was going to be it will not. Be prepare to accept good (or better) suggestions that were not expected.


Step 1: State your intent
Start the meeting like you should. Remind yourself and the team what is the intention of the day. I would always recommend providing a brief reminder of the days objective and then do a round table on individual expectations. Make a mental note on what is in scope and out of scope. Not every expectation can be met, but let them know when and where they can get the answer they are looking for.

You can start now by using those data points and breaking them out into 2 distinct groups, Task and Purpose.

The task is your what. What are you doing, activities, events
Purpose is your why. Why are we doing it... (improve service, cost, profits, etc.... )

Depending on the size of the team, break the team out, probably a couple of times, always building on thier accomplishment but with one goal in mind. Make your list into a one sentence summary. Have them review each other and at the end come up with ONE one-sentence summary.

Step 2: Try again
This is a good time to take a break as the next session is to pressure test your sentence, but this time with context. It would come handy if in your prep-work you where able to come up your supplier, customer, cross-functional team, bosses and others what and whys.

Can they, would they stand up to the test. Does your task and purpose, compliment all your the parties involve? How can you modify it so that it will.

My personal recommendation at this point is to understand your circle of influence. What is under your control. If you can modify your parties task and purpose, work with them, but if it is out of you control, then only accept what it is and move on.

Once the room is satisfied, time to move on to the next step. How do we know when we are winning?

Step 3: Measuring System

Let's review our progress so far. We got a solid elevator speech that will resonate with our customers, suppliers, with the company and our peers. That is not an easy task! Let's take a moment to admire our accomplishments.

We don't what our accomplishment to failed let's figure out how to measure them. When the time period end, when the buzzer sound, how can we tell what is the score? You got it, we need to set a measurement system in place.

Let's break it out into 2 sections, trackers and monitors.

Trackers should be for those actions you and your team are responsible. Those are your daily and controllable metrics. These goals are team base, they are the one common goal all members is after.

Monitors are the metrics that your partners measure themselves or you. Keep an eye on this measurements but do not over-react to what they say. They are nothing more than a reference and you are only one variable in the equation.

Step 4: Implication and prioritization
By this point in time you might want to think, we are done. We got a common goal, we are all align and we even pressure tested against our interdependencies. Let's go home!!!.... NOT YET!!!

You still have one more question to answer. What do I do next? Tomorrow when I sit in my desk, turn on my computer what is different?
This is the time to start putting your intent into actions.

Personally I've always love to draw a window frame and as we brainstorm different topics we can but them inside the window frame (in scope), out of the window frame (out of scope) and in between if you are undecided. Regardless the tool you use this exercise should allow you, the manager, to provide guidance of what is in and out and most importantly WHY! The team needs to be clear what are their borders so that they can interact with thier customer and peers with confidence and committing themselves do to what they are there to do and not to overcommit.

Once you feel comfortable and depending on how messy the window frame is you might want to take a few minutes to group them.

Once you decided what is important to the business and to the success of your team, you will need to decide what is critical. The moment had arrived where you can rank and stack the list. Why is it important. This is the filter the team will use to say YES or NO. This will eliminate the filter on who scream the loudest to get things done.

If you are a manager, this last step is the step you want to keep close to your memory, desk, computer. This is what you will use to manage the boundaries of your team. This is the list and activities that you are task to enable and empower your team.

Some side benefits

You just created a map that will:
a. help you establish a 2-way communication with your team
b. Provide an elevator speech through out the organization on the intent and goals of your team.
c. Help you gain clarity with all levels of the organization, including upper management and customers
d. Opportunity to gain alignment with the rest of the organization that might have goals or activities that are conflictive

On top of all those benefits the one that I must like is that this would allow you to empower your organization making them operational autonomous.

The Ever-Changing Organization (Inspired by Business Harvard Review Jan/Feb 2011)

Let me start with a quote by Benjamin Franklin... "When you're finish changing, you are finished."

Don't forget that today is not tomorrow. Although when you say this out loud it sounds silly, even stupid, many of us forget that today's organization will not be tomorrow, and to only stay focus on today's services will drive us to destruction of our organization or jobs.

But how do you take this words and turn them into action? In this article I will present a simple tool made of 3 columns divided into theme that will help you to:

1. Manage the present
2. Selectively forget the past
3. Create the future

I would go as far as to recommend to use this technique if:
- You are a result driven person
- Want to maintain your job and/or grow in it
- Have a team of people of services you manage
- Even if you are a CEO and want to make sure your business doesn't perish

Let me introduce you to the table, which is the tool that we will be building out.

Very easily created in any presentation tool or blank sheet of paper.

STEP 1:
For now let's start with Box 1. It is imperative that you get this box correct, this is the tactical box that will keep you in business. If you are a manager, this box is meant to write out the team strategy and day to day work. CEOs, managers are accountable for this box, but not responsible. In other word this are the teams projects.

STEP 2:
I would recommend to continue by filling out Box 3. Let's be honest, go where you think it is natural, because this should be an "Ever-changing" tool I think is a matter of preference if you want to continue in Box 2 versus 3 it's fine. If that is the case go to step 3 then come back.
Ok, Box 3 is about creating the future, where you want to go, what is the next step of your organization. If you are in the market and competing for market share, this should strive towards the next great thing. (If you are the organization with the greatest things in the market today, Box 3 focus should be aimed at the next best thing. If you read the blog published Jan 31, 2011 "the S curve". This is a tool that will complement innovation and discovery at least from a strategy level.

We will come back to this box one more time, but for now take sometime and make your wish list.

STEP 3:
Box 2, now that you created your present, take your first step to understand your future, let's make that list of anchors that are tying you to Box 1.
- First think about the things you must recognized to achieve Box 3
- Second think about the paradigms from Box 1 that are tying you to it

Before shouting DONE! let's take a final look at Box 3, were there any discoveries in Box 2 that should be added to box 3? Take a look.

Nice, now you have a list which can be transferable into actions. Couple of useful tips:
1. Work Box 3 projects into today's accountability day to day work
2. Involve young or untraditional voices (do not select people that are complacent with the status quo)
3.Do not forget that in order to create you must learn and forget. Do not start implementing Box 3 actions before doing a good due diligence in Box 2.